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Review
. 2010:2010:367838.
doi: 10.1155/2010/367838. Epub 2010 May 25.

Functional food targeting the regulation of obesity-induced inflammatory responses and pathologies

Shizuka Hirai  1 , Nobuyuki Takahashi, Tsuyoshi Goto, Shan Lin, Taku Uemura, Rina Yu, Teruo Kawada
Affiliations
Review

Functional food targeting the regulation of obesity-induced inflammatory responses and pathologies

Shizuka Hirai et al. Mediators Inflamm. 2010.

Abstract

Obesity is associated with a low-grade systemic chronic inflammatory state, characterized by the abnormal production of pro- and anti-inflammatory adipocytokines. It has been found that immune cells such as macrophages can infiltrate adipose tissue and are responsible for the majority of inflammatory cytokine production. Obesity-induced inflammation is considered a potential mechanism linking obesity to its related pathologies, such as insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, type-2 diabetes, and some immune disorders. Therefore, targeting obesity-related inflammatory components may be a useful strategy to prevent or ameliorate the development of such obesity-related diseases. It has been shown that several food components can modulate inflammatory responses in adipose tissue via various mechanisms, some of which are dependent on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), whereas others are independent on PPARgamma, by attenuating signals of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and/or c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK). In this review, we introduce the beneficial effects of anti-inflammatory phytochemicals that can help prevent obesity-induced inflammatory responses and pathologies.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The development of vicious cycle of inflammation between adipocytes and macrophages in obese adipose tissue.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Signaling pathway of inflammatory gene expressions in obese adipose tissue and the strategy to prevent the obese-related pathologies by food components.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Coculture system of adipocytes and macrophages for the screening for anti-inflammatory food components.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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